The Formal Secession of South Carolina, Unanimous Adoption of the Ordinance Declaring the Union Dissolved

(NYT, Free Reg Req) I wonder which state will be first next time. I would be so proud if it were Texas, but would be thrilled to see any state stand up and do it. And, by that I mean do it for real, not just in the form of some symbolic gesture. It would be a powerful step towards the repudiation of the excessive, out of control federal government and, hopefully, a strong step towards its eventual fall.

Comments

Logically, if one professes to believe in individual liberty, then to be consistent one must be against State secession, because State secession is, after all, nothing more than another variation of the majority forcing its will upon the minority. The only logical position for true lovers of liberty is that of individual secession.

I do, of course, agree with you at the most basic level. However, I also believe that for many, the progression towards the sort of liberty found in a State-free society is a gradual one. It is difficult for many to conceive of a life or society without government of the sort we see today. Thus, State secession can be seen a step in the right direction, and hopefully, the movement away from formal/mandatory government would continue (i.e., first the rejection of the federal government, then state, etc. and so on, until we finally arrive at individual secession or the concept of individual liberty as a workable, practical means of social organization.) Thank you for taking the time to comment, your thoughtful words and precise perspective are always appreciated.

I think it would be a little provocative, heh. A better strategy would be to not formally secede, but simply stop paying attention to the federal government (along with other measures such as arresting federal agents who are assaulting the people, such as happened in Montana lately with the drug busts). De facto secession, rather than de jure. This also does not have the problem that Suvarans noted, about those individuals not wanting to secede.

First of all, that would not be "secession", by virtually anyone's definition[1]: "the act of withdrawing from membership in a group". (Source: Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition (c.1991), page1351)

And, what about the STATE OF WYOMING, which has officially subjected itself to the dominion of the federal government[2]; are you going to "simply stop paying attention" to it, too? And, again, in precisely what way will you "simply stop paying attention" to it?